Columbia Road Market

This may not be a typical tourist destination — owing to the fact that fresh flowers and plants are not recommended for international travel — but Columbia Road Market provides a very London experience for those interested in seeing what the city's residents (many of them gay) get up to on a Sunday morning. Most are rise-and-shine types or domesticated couples; others might be on their way home from Saturday night. This often very crowded linear market is great for people-watching, and the aesthetically pleasing low-level Victorian street is lined with quaint one-off shops, selling everything from bagels and cakes to vintage clothing, art, antiques and, of minimal use to the casual traveller, garden implements. Plus pubs and various food outlets, including particularly good and not too pricey oysters and Bloody Marys to be had from hole-in-the-wall outlet Oyster Boy (located in Ezra St, seconds from the Royal Oak pub). Since the pandemic, stalls line just one side of the road (rather than two), making for a less sardine-like situation. Tube station: Old Street, then a six-minute walk east via arty/trendy Hoxton/Shoreditch, though most galleries will be shut on a Sunday. Consider getting to the market early- to mid-morning then walking ten minutes to Spitalfields via colourful Brick Lane. State-of-the-art bacon sandwiches are to be had at St John Bread and Wine in Commercial St [see entry]. While you're there look at olde-worlde Fourner St (home to veteran gay art duo Gilbert and George) and Princelet St, plus Nicholas Hawksmoor's Christ Church Spitalfields, which looms over this special pocket of London.